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Solus
Solus is the mighty hero, god of all that is good and just and right in the world. He is the epitome of hero and gives every one hope who is aspiring to be great. Those who need a hero and those who wish to be heroes all pray to him. Crusaders battle in his name for justice and virtue. History He was a mortal born in the city of Gedian on the western continent of Galea about 15,000 years ago. He was a poor beggar in the streets of this mighty city. Destiny found him and he became a hero of the people. In life, as in divinity, he was unwavering in his conviction to defend the helpless. It is said that he is one of only three divines to have ascended by the First Path. Home Just below the peak of Heaven is Solus' home plane of Culdan. Culdan is a giant fortress monastery filled with dead crusaders, archons, and warriors for good. Only the virtuous live among Solus. It is a castle build to accommodate those who wish to continue their service to him after death, to fight in holy wars, and aid mortals in their quests. Relationships Solus is allied with, and a member of, the Light of Life. His enemies include the Dark Masters. He is married to Taija. Though they don't always see exactly eye to eye, their goals are very similar. The two of them have a daughter, Evriel. Appearance and Emissaries The most common depiction of Solus is that of a handome armored crusader standing on a sphere, ready to stab it with his sword. Servants Angels and Archons both serve Solus but his most prized servants are Valkyries. Valkyries are Solus's soul collectors, they travel the material plane bringing back worthy heroic souls to serve in Solus's divine army. Church of Solus Solus teaches virtue. Of all the divines, he is the holiest of the holies. He fights for what is right and stands up for those in need. He crusades to spread hope and justice. These are the things he instructs his follows to do, righteousness, virtue, mercy for the needy, and destruction of evil. Worshipers and Clergy Even though Solus is a crusader, many of his clergy do not take up arms. They focus, instead, on his piousness and virtuousness. They are meek and kind, aiding the poor and hungry. They often run orphanages and homes for the homeless. Of all the gods, the clergy of Solus are the most well known for giving back to their community. This, in addition to their common crusaders, is the reason why Solus worship is so wide spread, and how it happened so quickly after his apotheosis. Clergy not dressed for combat wear bland robes. WIthin the churches during congregation they will usually wear white as a show of purity. When they travel, other blank colors are used such as greys and black. Organization Within the church exists separate organizations with different tasks and focuses. Order Militant This order is the main group of combat ready crusaders. They train together and fight together. Only within larger cities and nations do they commonly have standing armies, but most churches, even the smallest of them all, will have a few militants to help defend the churches. If they are lucky, they will train in a larger militant group and the travel to, or be assigned to, smaller fringe churches. However, many of the smaller churches will have only two militants, a student and a master. Generally, neither of them received any formal training. Instead, they are taught by their masters and often never travel to any major city. Their symbol is a cross on a shield. Order Inquisitus Inquisitors, witch hunters, investigators, and demon and undead slayers all come from the specialized Order Inquisitus. They are the individuals, the heroes, the specialized hunters of all that is wrong and evil in the world. They usually fight alone, as opposed to the militant who fights in groups. They are at the command of the Ecclesiarchy and will be sent where they are told. Occasionally, the Inquisitus will crusade on his own, but this is usually done with the permission of the ecclesiarch that oversees him. Because of their specialized nature, the vast majority of the members of the Inquisitus are located within major cities and only venture out when instructed to do so. Their symbol is a cross on a hammer. Temples and Shrines Most churches dedicated to Solus are long buildings that accommodate a main chamber filled with pews and ending with a podium, typically elevated, so the congregation may watch and listen to the priest preach. Unlike many churches of temples of other deities, churches of Solus do not take on the appearance of their region's architecture. They always have steeples on the front of the building, though some are pointed and some are not. Inside the larger and nicer churches, there is often art work displaying Solus undergoing his seven trials. This could be in the form of paints, statues, or other art depending on the desires of the clergy. Most churches will have a statue of Solus at the far end behind the podium. This statue is always similar. It depicts Solus as a young handsome man, standing on a sphere under his left foot, sword out and readied in front of him, point down, preparing to strike the sphere. Shrines to Solus will either be of the statue or the equal armed cross that is his holy symbol. These can be found both large and small and have been seen everywhere. Being a divine that produces crusaders, Solus worship is wide spread. Holy Texts The Trials of Solus: The holy book of Solus consists of 13 books that provide the basis of the paths he took to divinity. They are the tales of his trials that he undertook that eventually lead to him gaining his divine spark. There are slightly different versions of the stories regionally, but his message is the same in all of them. *'Trial I: '''Solus battles against a horde of undead. He saves many people and destroys all of the undead, but succumbs to his wounds and dies. *'Trial II:' Solus is brought back to life and begins helping the people of the kingdom ravaged by undead. He provides aid and care for the sick and poor and performs healing rituals an blessings. *'Trial III:' Solus wishes to go to foreign lands and fight the enemies of good, but looking to the strength of his patron Taija, he instead realizes that his place is with the survivors of the undead horde. He continues to help. *'Trial IV:' Solus uncovers the plot of domination by a demon worshiping necromancer and his cult. He is the one that unleashed the armies of the undead. He spends countless days studying the necromantic arts to fully understand his enemy and how to defeat him. He clashes face to face with the necromancer in open combat. Observers witnessing the battle say between the whirling blades and spells and flashes of energy, the were unable to tell who was who in the fight. In the end Solus emerged from the fog of war, saying the the necromancer still lives. *'Trial V: Solus spend an extended amount of time with his lieutenants. He learns to love them as if they were his own family. *'Trial VI: '''Solus confronts the cult with complete understanding of their power. He defeats the cult and slays many. Their forces scatter to the wind, but the leader survives. *'Trial VII: Solus spends a great amount of time living among his soldiers and learns lessons of kindness while he cares for them. *'Trial VIII: '''Solus is confronted by a powerful king who offers riches, women, and fame to serve him. Initially, Solus is tempted by the offer but turns it down as he sees the corruption this could bring. *'Trial IX:' The king is angered by Solus's refusal and attacks Solu's army. Solus and his army defeats the king's legion and Solus slays the king in honorable one on one combat. Solus takes control of one of the king's forts and uses it for his army. Solus stands in the highest tower and looks down. He sees that the world, and the universe, and he sees that it is small. He is significant, as is everyone else. *'Trial X: Solus leaves his army and his greatest lieutenant in charge. He travels the the land and learns of the world. *'''Trial XI: Solus retreats to a secluded monastery of Tao and meets with their monks. He learns to meditate and finally overcomes his sense of separation. He learns that he is of the universe and that all things are like him. He is ready to leave. *'Trial XII:' Solus puts down his sword and his shield and travels the land. He teaches others what he has learned, of heroism, virtue, and honor. *'Trial XIII:' As Solus's final days draw near, he is content by everything he has experienced in his life. He battles his own mind in a test of will power. He succeeds and ascends to divinity. The Twelve Spheres of Virtue: '''The Twelve Spheres is a script said to be written by Solus himself while he was a mortal, which described exactly how to be virtuous. One must not live by their vices, in excess or deficiency, to be virtuous. Holy Relics Any artifact or relic associated with the church. Magic Items Magic weapons, armor, and items that can be used to fight evil are often found in churches and temples of Solus. Paladin's Code *I will learn the weight of my sword. Without my heart to guide it, it is worthless -- my strength is not in my sword but in my heart. If I lose my sword, I have lost a tool. If I betray my heart, I have died. *I will always live the mean. Excess and deficiency in all spheres are the vices to be avoided. *I will emulate virtue to be virtuous. *I will focus on being good and the right actions will effortlessly follow. *I will follow my function and I shall live as I am meant to live. I shall forever strive to be a moral exemplar in order to reach eudaimonia. *I will be courageous. I will be neither rash nor a coward. *I will have temperance. I will be neither licentious nor insensible. *I will be graceful with honesty. I will neither be brutal nor fail to say what is needed. *I will be generous. I will not suffer from stinginess nor prodigality. *I will be magnanimous. I will not suffer from vanity nor undue humility.. *I will have patience. I will not be irascible nor lack spirit. *I will be truthful. I will not boast nor understate my deeds. *I will be witty. I will not be a buffoon nor boorish. *I will be friendly. I will not be obsequious nor cantankerous. *I will be modest. I will not be shy nor shameless. *I will have righteous indignation. I will not be spiteful nor envious. *I will protect the innocent and the virtuous. They are his chosen people. Traits '''Virtuous Trust: Through the teachings of Solus, you strive to bring peace to the world. Those who you speak to more trusting than they normally would be when they see your devotion to the Virtuous One. As long as your holy symbol is visible you gain a +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks. One of these is always a class skill. A Shining Beacon: You carry a burning hatred in your heart for all things demonic and have studied their weaknesses carefully. You deal an amount of additional damage equal to your weapon's critical modifier when you core a successful critical hit with a weapon against a demon. This damage is added only after the damage is totaled and is not multiplied by the critical hit multiplier. Deific Obedience Hold your weapon in front of you with your dominant hand, blade point down. Holy your holy symbol with your other hand. Bow your head and pray, asking for guidance and protection and swear to uphold his teachings and be virtuous. You gain a +4 sacred bonus to Diplomacy and Sense Motive. Exalted Boons 1: Servent of Men (Sp) Rally Point 3/day, Shield Ally 2/day, Heroism 1/day 2: Righteous Strike (Sp) 'Once per day, you can channel the effects of ''holy smite through your weapon. You must declare your use of this ability before you roll your attack. On a hit, the target is affected as if targeted with holy smite. '''3: Holy Ally (Sp) Once per day as a standard action you can summon a movanic deva. The deva follows your follows your commands perfectly for 1 minute for every hit die you possess before vanishing back to its home in Heave. The deva doesn't follow commands that would violate its alignment, however, and particularly egregious commands could cause it to attack you. Chosen of Solus The chosen of Solus is the mortal herald of the god of virtue. The following are the abilities of the Chosen of Solus: *''Immunities (Ex): The Chosen of Solus are immune to aging, electricity, disease, fear, pain, mind affecting effects, petrification, and poison. They do not need to sleep but still must rest to prepare spells. He gains a 10 resistance to fire and cold. *''Aura of Menace (Su): A righteous aura surrounds the Chosen of Solus that fight or get angry. Any hostile creature within a 20 foot radius of a Chosen must succeed on a Will save to resist its effects. The save DC 10 + 1/2 hit dice + Charisma modifier. Those who fail take a -2 penalty on attacks, AC, and saves for 24 hours or until they successfully hit the Chose that generated the aura. A creature that has resisted or broken the effect cannot be affected again by the same Chosen's aura for 24 hours. *''Aura of Valor'': The Chosen of Solus' allies are filled with fighting vigor when near him, wishing to fight on no matter what they face. All allies within 10' are immune to fear. *''Smite Evil/Chaos (Su): The Chosen of Solus may use ''smite evil as a paladin equal to his hit dice. The smite may also be used against chaotic foes as well. *''Spell-like abilities:'' **''Continuous'': Protection from Evil, Mind Blank,'' Death Ward'' **At Will: Sanctuary, Magic Circle Against Evil, Magic Circle Against Chaos **3/day: Righteous Might, Hold Person, Holy Smite **1/day: Storm of Vengeance *Skills: **+4 Knowledge (Nobility, Religion), +4 to Diplomacy, +4 Heal *Ability Scores: +10 Charisma Category:Religion Category:Gods Category:Glory Domain Category:Good Domain Category:Healing Domain Category:Protection Domain Category:Strength Domain Category:Lawful Good Deity